Things You'll Need:
- Business plan
- Collateral
- Relatively good credit
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Step 1
Develop a business plan. You will need a quality business plan before you apply for small business grants and loans. A business plan should explain what your business does, what makes it special, how it has performed in the past and how you expect it to perform in the future. It will also need to identify your competition.
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Step 2
Visit your local branch of the Small Business Administration or visit their website. They have several great financial assistance programs and loan programs that you can learn about such as the SBA loan and disaster assistance loans.
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Step 3
Visit your bank and ask if they offer SBA loans. Most banks are going to offer this type of loan. Fill out an application and submit it with the requested documentation. Most likely you will need to submit with your application your business plan, your tax returns for the last 3 years, financial statements and possibly information on your collateral.
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Step 4
Look for other small business loan providers. Capital and Bank of America are two companies that offer small business loans.
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Step 5
Request an application and instructions from your new small business loan leads. Read through the material and make sure that you qualify for the loan before you apply.
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Step 6
Consider your alternative money sources to small business loans. For example you may want to apply for a business credit card which can offer you a line of credit up to around $20,000. If you own a piece of property, or if you have other valuable pieces of collateral, then you can also apply for a business line of credit. The amount of money that you can borrow from a business line of credit ranges between $15,000 and $50,000.
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Step 7
Apply for a HELOC, home equity line of credit. If you own your own home and have earned equity in it then you can apply for a HELOC. A HELOC is a revolving line of credit that is secured by the equity in your home.
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Step 8
Network to find grants, investors and small business loan opportunities. For example you can join the National Venture Capital Association. Membership in this organization will provide you with several networking events that you can take advantage of to meet with venture capitalists.
